One thing a muso loves is seeing something great before everyone else. I caught LOS CAMPESINOS! upstairs at the Star & Garter a couple of years ago, just as the first swellings of a buzz were emerging. Since then, word has spread and their debut album 'Hold On Now, Youngster' has been very much long-awaited. Supporting the release is their biggest tour to date – with tonight being the largest audience so far, according to them.
Strange that they choose to tour with a band who sound an awful lot like them. JOHNNY FOREIGNER have the same brattish vocals, but with a more straightforward punk sound. It works, on the whole. The songs are both spiky and catchy, whilst the band themselves are rather charming, having already developed a penchant for crowd interaction. They're a punk band having a tantrum in the nicest possible way. It just seems a strange choice, as more than anything they do sound like a stripped down but much louder Los Campesinos!, who themselves have started to sound a little samey of late – which leaves you under threat of geek-rock overload.
Tonight should all be about a band at the height of their expectations. It's the day of the art-poppers' album release, they've have some good reviews, and they seem to be developing a strong following – there is much potential to celebrate; so it doesn't follow that tonight feels flat on the whole.
It's good – don't get me wrong. It's perhaps a little too good – they've learned how to be a tight band and some of the chaos has gone, and it somehow makes it less convincing. Set opener 'Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats' commences with the yelps that announce it's arrival on the album, but it doesn't sound natural. It's a faithful rendition that leads into 'Don't Tell Me To Do The Math(s)' as it does on the album. In fact, the live show doesn't deviate much from the album at, merely in a different order, and with early favourite 'You Say Party, We Throw Knives' chucked in for good measure.
The problem is that they haven't taken the time to explore their sound. They are a big band, with many instruments, yet they have developed their formula and repeated it. There are only so many spoken word monologues one band needs – and that's one, to be honest, otherwise it becomes less special. Gareth's singing is impeccable, but gone are the stage tantrums that, although annoying, are missed in hindsight. The lyrics are often amazing, usually clever, and sometimes cringingly pretentious, but they're certainly unique. They have mastered how to do the memorable chants and get everyone to sound like they're jamming rather naturally, but none of it sounds as spontaneous as it once was.
|
It's almost as if they have learned to be themselves and are now stuck for what to do next. With such a wealth of musical input, the ideas should be flying around, and perhaps they need to learn that members can sit certain songs out if it will help with the variety. The instrumental moments appear on every song, and it makes it a challenge for anything to stand out. They should to Arcade Fire as an example of how to expand a large sound.
Obvious set-closer “Sweet Dreams Sweetcheeks” should be the crescendo of the evening, but there just isn't the heart there, considering this is a young band with songs that should just spill enthusiasm everywhere. This should be something of a celebration, and in some ways they seem to enjoy themselves, but the vibrant young band I saw two years ago seem quite tired. Hopefully they will have perked up for the festival season, and hopefully come up with some A bit more variety and experimentation is the order of the day for Los Campesinos! The high hopes haven't faded, but they have taken a bit of a jolting.
|
